1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of coin accepting mechanisms for use in the vending machine industry, and more particularly, is directed to an improved coin slide capable of accepting and processing a plurality of coins in vertical, transversely spaced alignment and which includes magnetic means to detect and reject ferrous slugs.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Coin slides have long been utilized in the vending machine industry to function various types of vending machines upon the introduction of the correct number and denomination of coins. The prior art coin slides have been designed to receive and check the proper number and denomination of coins and to initiate the function of the vending machine in response to the introduction of the coins. More recently, vertical type coin slides have become increasingly popular in view of their compactness, their reliability and their capability of handling larger numbers of coins. Further, changes in the vending price in such vertical coin slides can be made without requiring special skills or specially constructed tools.
As set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,350,240, 4,401,202 and 4,499,983, which patents are owned by the assignee of the present application, improved features have been designed to render the vertical type coin slides capable of rapid and easy price adjustment. This feature allows vending machine operators to adjust the coin slides of large numbers of machines as necessary to either increase the vending price or to lower the vending price, in accordance with day-to-day market place requirements. Interchangeable cores have been designed in the devices of the said prior patents for storage of suitable parts directly within the coin slides in a manner which enables an operator to adjust the vending price without requiring major disassembly of the component parts of the coin slide. Other improvements have been designed to increase the resistance of vertical coin slides to theft and to breakage.
While the devices of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,350,240, 4,401,202 and 4,499,983 additionally have incorporated many improved construction features which were particularly designed to minimize the acceptance of bad coins and to discourage tampering, experience has proven that even such improved coin slides could sometimes be manipulated in a manner to function the associated machine by employing rather crudely made slugs. This was possible so long as the slugs conformed generally to the weight and dimensional characteristics of an authentic coin. The present invention incorporates additional construction features to prevent the function of the coin slide and consequently the associated vending machine when ferrous slugs are attempted to be substituted for proper coins.